The Ancient Egyptian Theater -- Early History Plays?

The papyri which are described as the Book of Thoth are written in a manner that looks like the pages of a script book. Stage directions and who says what are clear. Having been involved in theater myself, when I read the papyri I see a script. A script for a play to be performed.

Who were they performing for? The temples in Egypt are grand indeed. The festivals were grand, or can I say celebrations? Seshat was honored in the New Years celebrations. Were these "scripts" recorded and protected for thousands of years the best plays to be performed at these highly attended and much anticipated events?

While reading the Book of the Dead, or shall I say Living, I noticed that the term "spells" were used. When I looked up the meaning of spells in the hieroglyphic term it connotates "words to be spoken". To me this means the words that follow are to be said out loud, not read. That the "spells" were "lines".

Why have scholars not studied in depth the possibilities of theater in ancient Egypt, before Greece existed. Why is there no serious discussion of the ancient scripts as plays to be performed, whether in the temples, festivals, or shows of other forms.

Animals and their representations in these scripts that were meant to be spoken are prominent. Children today love to be entertained by animals. Schools today teach the alphabet, learning concepts, and reading through the usage of animals. Is it fair to say that the Africans in Egypt did the same thing thousands of years ago?

Izapa Stela 5 Seshat and Early Egyptian Writing

There are several studies that address the early writings of Africa and how they have shown up in the Americas. I will begin to touch on them here. There are also more concrete correlations between Thoth/Seshat and these gods/goddesses represented in the language and script of the early writers in South America. I will go into detail about this aspect in another post.

Izapa Stela 5

"Some researchers claim that the Mesoamerican writing systems are related to African scripts. In the early 19th century, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque proposed that the Mayan inscriptions were probably related to the Libyco-Berber writing of Africa.^[7] Leo Wiener^[8] and others claim that various Olmec and Epi-Olmec symbols are similar to those found in the Vai script, in particular, the symbols on the Tuxtla Statuette, Tao Mask, Cascajal Block, and the celts in Offering 4 at La Venta. These assertions have found no support among Mesoamerican researchers. While mainstream scholars have made significant progress translating the Maya script, researchers have yet to translate Olmec glyphs."

Also, there is an online document called Ancient Mariners in America that is noteworthy that has also addressed the writing that the Libyan women practiced, Tifnag, and its occurrence in the United States.

"Tifinag lettering originated in Mauretania, where it is still in use among the Berbers in the Atlas Mountains. Examples of these lettering forms are scratched on cave shelters and rock outcrops throughout the United States and Canada, and in North Africa. Universities in present- day Algeria, Morocco and Libya, having worked with Dr. Fell, can verify and translate the ancestral scripts housed in the archives and libraries."

Holy Honey Poetic Mead: The Drink of Seshat "Lady Wisdom" from Ethiopia to Europe

They say whenever one learns something the senses become enlightened to that knowledge and you began to notice it more often. Well just last week I was reading about the Norse online as well as the Book of Thoth or more specifically, The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth: A Demotic Discourse on Knowledge and Pendant to the Classical Hermeticabefore returning it to Vanderbilt's Divinity Library after having it checked out for over a year. Both spoke of this drink of Seshats. I saw a connection between the two and became intrigued by this honey alcoholic drink. Among the Norse it was called Poetic Mead skáldskapar mjaðar or Mead of Suttungr (for some reason rap music comes to mind).

It was a mythical beverage and it was believed that whoever drank it became a skald or scholar. They believed they would be able to recite any information and solve any question. In a similar fashion in the book of Thoth, the-one-who-seeks-knowledge, calls to Seshat to impart her wisdom and knowledge. However, the primary drink of choice is the analogous breast milk. Thoughts of the "Golden Age" and the "Land of Milk & Honey", a reference used in the Hebrew Bible used to signify abundance, swirled through my head. Seshat is known as the nurse who nurtures language. There are many statues in Egypt of the young sucking the breast milk of a woman as a symbol of the imparting of knowledge. In the book of Thoth, the-one-who-loves-knowledge is told to call Seshat on the New Year and she will "make her place at your mouth, you being thirsty" (Column 4 B02, papyri from the Graeco Roman period, 332 BC -395 AD, of Egypt) Speaking of thirst for knowledge, I just love it when connections are made across cultures that help piece history together. Mead is ancient and found among many cultures. It was this topic of the honey mead and honeymoon following the "tying of the knot" that led to the title of my previous post. The Greek used the symbolism of the beehive in its architecture of tombs called the Beehive or Tholos tomb.
  

Black Demeter with scepter

 In another Greek story, "THE FABLE OF TIRYNS," there was a king, Laertes (1700BC) the gardener of Homer's Odyssey, who built a shrine for E.L.AY.A (Black Demeter, goddess of agriculture, Melaina, "The Black One", Avenger) with 2 genii. In this picture there were Olive groves that saved the town from hunger and genii holding libation jubs filled with Mead where they were shown flanking a Tree of Life, Seshat's symbol. The knowledge of embodied by the figure Demeter became known as the Eleusinian Mysteries, which links Greece with ancient Egypt and which according to Cicero, brought them out of their "barbarious and savage life and educated and refined to a state of civilization".

  

Olive tree on Ithaca, Greece, that is claimed
to be over 1500 years old.


It was in these Olive groves that many learned about agriculture and it was said that it was the wise women who told them to plant the olive groves in the Argolis. These tiryns with the Ss, olives, tree of life, masonry, and wise women also introduced to this Greek culture the Eye of Argos and the 12 month calendar (time keeping).  This also happened to be a high time of the scribal art including letters and pictographs among this culture. "He ordered his scribes to invent a sign for every sound produced by the lips and tongue, and thus they invented an alphabet. Sseyr (Zeus) was written as follows: a rosette plus a bald head plus an ear of emmer. The rosette was another reminder of the former Circular Building. The phonetic value of this sign was an emphatic Ss" Thus goes the story of the origin of their alphabet. In the Norse Yggdrasi mythology on line 15 of the skaldec poem Ragnorsdrapa uses seior as the term cord, string. Another linguistic correlation between the ancient culture and teachings passed down fromt he books of the scribes from Egypt to other cultures that learned the scribal art.

Now back to Africa..

In Lost Kingdoms of Africa he shows a church in Ethiopia and their connection with the honey mead and its relationship to the temple. Dr Gus Hayford was seeking a connection between the current church and King Solomon. Their honey mead is also their communion wine. It is believed to also have healing powers. In Ethiopia "The traditional vessel for drinking tej is a rounded vase-shaped container called a berele" according to this website on mead history.

In the Old Kingdom bee keeping (2500-2350BCE) is found in the Aba Ghorab Sun Temple of Neuserre which is now in the Egyptian Museum. There were also bowls 1.18 meters in diameter found. In 2004 Cairo and Brown University found at Giza a basin for liquids dating the 2nd half of the 5th Dynasty. There was a rectangular pool with the "standard invocation for funerary offerings" in Tureh limestone Renpetreferet which reads "An offering which the King gives that gives, that invocation offering should belong to her on the Wag festival, the Thoth festival, the Festival of the New Year, Festival of the 1st of the Year, the Great Festival, and everyday". On the top line it reads "It was her son, the one who did for her this by now, the burial in the necropolis the carpenter, perherneferet". The rectangular book, particularly in the New Kingdom is connected with the tree goddess. This basin was for "mitrt" possibly from the root mtr- the famous lady, to be famous or renowned. Madea, mother figure.

Honey mead has a rich history in Africa and is even found as far south as South Africa. There is more than one Ethiopian version, one recipe can be found here.

My aim is not to show how Norse and Greek mythology relates to Egypt, but to show that Lady Wisdom and those practices connected to her can be found in other cultures with similar connections whose origins researchers have been unsure of.  

The Surveyors Craft and the Knotted Cord

America was built on the knotted cord. Surveyors of early American history who determined the metes and bounds were using techniques originally taught thousands of years ago in KMT. This video How the States Got Their Shape details the important role the surveyor's craft held in shaping the map of America.

This show has been removed from YouTube and is no longer available for viewing. 

Seshat was recognized by the ancient Egyptians as the source of the wisdom and knowledge of measuring land and buildings. Particularly temples in which the measurements were considered divinely inspired and sacred.

The knotted cord (ht)was also retold by other cultures, including King James who included the story of King Solomon and the stretching of the cord in the Bible.

When you look at the etymology of the word height there is no recorded history of its linking to the egyptian word cord or rods (ha3t). But it begs for questioning.

At least by 2600 BC Egyptians were using tools still used by surveyors today.  Modern surveyors recognize their technology coming from KMT, such as the plumb bob, the A-Level, T-Level and plumb square used unchanged for over 4400 years. The knowledge of land surveying was shared among many cultures throughout subsequent thousands of years. However, the imagry of Seshat at Temple Edfu and other locations shows how the knotted cord, stretching of the cord ceremony, the field of surveying, land ownership, and mathematics have been handed down for thousands of years and can be seen in current day "rituals" as well as science.

References to Lady Wisdom, Seshat in the Bible

She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her.

Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

 

She is a tree of life to all who take her in their hands, and happy is everyone who keeps her.

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.

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Genesis 2:9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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Proverbs 4:13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

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Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

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Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

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Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

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Proverbs 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

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Ecclesiastes 7:12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

Seshat, The Tree of Life, & Operation Odyssey

In March of this year Libya, the land of the ancient women who ruled, was attacked in a war that has been coined Operation Odyssey. My interest in Libya began with my research of Seshat and women who were ancient writers in Africa in 2011 because of an ancient script called Tifinag. Tifinag was used among the Libyan women and was intricately tied to matrilineal societies and the early women of Egypt who were scribes for the tracking of property, lineage, etc.. 

The history of early writing, women, agriculture, and land ownership in North Africa was tied to this early writing and the heiroglyphs that developed in Egypt. The early forms of writing, knowledge, and wisdom were represented by "she who scrivens" which was related, in my opinion, to matrilineal society. According to wiki, "Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. Matrilineality also is a societal system in which one belongs to one's matriline or mother's lineage, which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles."

In my research of the early history of writing in Egypt I saw a correlation to the culture of the women in Libya who were writers and the symbol Seshat "she who scrivens". Gadhafi, the leader of modern Libya, had a desire to display women today as they were in the ancient days also known as "Amazon Women" warriors.

The timing of the war against Libya seemed strategic so I took note of its name and saved this bit for future reference. According to Wired, "The U.S. military’s nickname for the no-fly zone in Libya sounds like the beginning of a long adventure. But Defense Department officials insist that there’s no hidden meaning behind 'Operation Odyssey Dawn.' It’s just the product of the Pentagon’s semi-random name-generating system." So here we have the women of Libya in the news, at a location I consider to be the hub of early writing systems represented by gardens, trees, and papyrus (paper) to the anceints.

Fast forward to June and The Tree of Life, written by Terrence Malick, is about to hit the theaters. It comes out 7/1/11, the day of a solar eclipse. Of course its reference to the Tree of Life caught my attention when I saw it advertised with Thor, so I googled it. The film opens with a quotation from the Book of Job, when God asks, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" Then a waving light like a flame emerges. As you know from my previous post Seshat was the Mistress of the House of Architects and instructed in the laying of the foundations through her wand and headress which was connected to the stars. I think of tools such as an astrolobe and books about geometry when I conceptualize the need of early architechs and surveyors to honor Seshat to legitamize their work, her "school" was their branding.

Sean Penn is an architect in the movie. It is the moment of a planting of a tree that the central reminiscence of the film begins. Now a movie titled the Tree of Life with a central character as an architect that uses imagery of astronomy, tree of life, number 7 and 11, laying of foundations, etc., all central themes of Seshat obviously is using her symbolism but why?

This is a brief synopsis of how the Tree of Life (symbol of Seshat) and Libya (Operation Odyssey) have integrated in the past. How it integrates in the present and future is yet to be seen as this drama unfolds. I will post more after I see the movie.

Night at the Movies, my review of The Adjustment Bureau and Thor

Thursday evening, May 5, 2011, my husband and I went to the movies. I had non idea what movies we were going to see, I was just happy to get out and go somewhere. The first movie was called "The Adjustment Bureau" which started at 9:40pm. I am going to provide a review on this blog because I am now beginning to see more things through a lens filter of "Seshat". I find I notice more correlations with these ancient teachings as I learn more about its history.

Overall my impression of the movie was that it was a great love story. Its not often you find a man that intent on having a women, and a man of stature who one would think could have any women at his beckon call. One of the key characters who aided in the seeking of the truth and the correction of the plans that were in error happened to be an African-American male. Which I thought may have been strategic after noticing there were hardly any other people of color in the movie at all. It is my view that whoever wrote this has some knowledge of ancient Egyptian teachings, but I do not consider it to be a true representation of the teaching, just influenced by. I noticed that the man did not admit to being an angel or disclose the name of who was in charge.

So why does this movie remind me of Seshat and this blog? It is full of similarities. In true transfiguration style, they are able to use a vortex to enter doors that lead to other areas which allows them to travel faster.

The door in this scene leads to "Lady Liberty" whose relationship to Seshat I posted previously. This scene at Lady Liberty also marks an important turning point in the movie. It is at this moment that Elise chooses him and also the one door that leads to the "House of Records" is at this location. The movie deals with fate, which Seshat is often seen as etching the time of the politicians of Egypt. Their plans and longevity in office were determined and recorded by her. How long they would rule was indicated by notches placed on the palm leaf stalk. The divine measurer of time. She kept a recording of the lives and deeds of men on the sacred persea (ished) tree at Heliopolis, "City of the Sun". In this scene of the Adjustment Bureau the filter shifts from the color blue to green. The characters are on grass, by the ocean, and the sun begins to shine. The main character, Matt Damon, was a politician who was to win 4 more elections and was to go very far politically, but the plans were rewritten because it was thought that the women he loved would keep him from going far politically and he would keep her from achievement in her art. Their love was only good in small doses. At the end of this part of the movie when the error made in 2005 is corrected and the story is rewritten in the book, they are able to love each other, the rain stop and the sun comes out and shines over the city of New York. Light concurs darkness. But sometimes you must go through the rain to reach truth.

The Adjustment Bureau is about fate, destiny, and  free will. One website explains Seshat relationship to fate

In Egyptian thought the concept of fate (shaï) is always imagined in connection with writing, and hence Seshat is a Goddess of fate as well, which in Egyptian theology paradigmatically involves reckoning the lifespan. The divine command is written down, not as a mere record, but to render it concrete, and the writing of it is inseparable from its enforcement.

This concept of fate was tipified in the movie at the turning point scene at the statue of liberty when they entered the door to the hall of records where they sought to change what was written. In the book of life.
The book that came from the hall of records looked very much architectural in nature. The plans, measures, and blueprints were very Seshatish to me.  The plans were written by "a man....or a women" but were mysteriously changed in 2005. The number 7 came up a few times in the movie. 7 is the symbol of Seshat. She was also called the "Mistress of the House of Books". As I have been thinking about the relationship between Seshat and Thoth and El one thing rings true is that the later associations are male. No too much mention of the women. At the end of the movie the person who presided over this book that wrote the story of these people's lives the sex is not clearly stated. It is left to wonder. But it is clearly hinted that it may not be what you think. He says, "a man" takes a pause, then says",...or a women". I was about to jump out my seat. The main point to the movie was that we have the power to change what is written. However, in the end, it was just noted that in 2005 someone made an error that had to be corrected, so what was written originally actually did occur.

The next movie we watched was Thor, which started at 12:01 am. I am sure someone can comment as to why. I was sure I had seen Thor recently while researching Thoth and Seshat among the Europeans. So I did a quick search on my cell phone for Thor and Thoth and sure enough there was a connection between the two. I began to feel like my evening was planned, or I had better provide more content on my blog so here goes. There is not much I have to say about Thor, other then going into the research behind the Greek gods and their relationships with early Egypt. In the movie Thor there was the concept of transmutation, traversing through wormholes, timelessness, and fate. They did touch on magic and science.  Which for me in the study of Seshat is important because there is a lot of writing that talks about magic as it pertains to medicine and such. However, when I go back and read much of it such as in Medea when she describes it to Creon, it is not magic, but science the ignorant do not understand. It is their way of explaining what they see and do not comprehend. In the movie Thor is found an astrophysicist.

Sealed with a Kiss seemed an important theme to both movies. I do not know if this has any relationship with Seshat but thought it noteworthy because it probably does and I just don't know it yet. Yesterday my daughter brough home a book from school called "Sealed with a Kiss" about a seal, the animal. I imagine the Kiss in the movies has to do with Kundalini concepts and the gateways dealing with sexual chemistry and birth.